Love is Contagious
by Novum-Semita
Summary: When Princess Bubblegum gets sick, who should look after her other than Marceline the Vampire Queen? All sorts of fun ensues with a measure of romance mixed in which makes for a very delicious medicine. Short oneshot. Bubbline/Sugarless Gum


Marceline sat with her back against the dead old tree outside her cave home. The sun had gone down and she'd removed her hat, allowing the late autumn breeze to flow through her hair where it cast interesting shadows on the wall. She strummed her bass absentmindedly while her thoughts drifted across the vast plains to a kingdom nestled there. It wasn't your average castle with tall stone walls and even taller towers. Instead of stone, the whole kingdom was made of candy like the residents that made it their home. Her thoughts glided up towards the centremost tower where the pink brainiac who lived there was more than likely working on some important project or other. It would certainly explain why neither she nor the others had seen her. Not even Lady Rainicorn had heard from her in some time. Marceline set down her bass, suddenly not in the mood for music, which was unusual for her.

"Where are you, Bonnie?" she asked of the night air. The wind whistled as though in reply and she tilted her head back, imagining it was Bonnibel whistling a tune as she worked. Sometimes Marceline would nestle unnoticed up in the rafters and watch the young woman at work.

'Maybe I'll go see what she's up to,' Marceline thought to herself as she rose up into the sky. A tiny part of her was ticking over the idea that maybe something else was afoot. She glided across the sky, listening to the sound of bats flying below in amongst the trees.

At last she reached the Candy Kingdom and she flew up to the lab window, peering in. The lights were off and there was no equipment sitting out, no experiments midway through to being completed. She used her telekinesis to slide open the latch and flitted inside. She spotted a stack of papers on the desk and flapped over to investigate. She picked up the topmost sheet of paper and scanned it quickly.

"This was dated five days ago," she read aloud, "Did Bonnie maybe go away on a trip or something?" She felt a tiny wrench at the prospect of the Princess leaving without telling her, wondering why it should hurt her so. She heard voices approaching down the corridor and glided across the room to listen.

"Yes, that's what the doctor said," said the first voice. It sounded like Peppermint Butler, "She needs to rest for another few days at least." The second voice, Eva, the Princess' maid, by the sound of it, sighed.

"I know," Eva replied, "But you know how she is; stubborn as a mule and always wanting to get back to work on her experiments." Marceline gasped. There was only one person they could be talking about. The footsteps faded down the corridor and out of earshot. Marceline turned invisible before unlocking the door and following the corridor along until she reached the Princess' room. She opened the door and slipped inside, closing it behind her. The Princess was propped upright in her bed, looking at a notebook with her glasses perched on the end of her nose. Marceline chuckled to herself. Just as Eva said: stubborn as a mule.

"So this is where you've been all this time," said Marceline as she faded slowly into view in an effort to avoid startling the young woman.

"Marcy?" said the Princess in surprise, dropping her notebook, "How long have you been here?"

"Only a minute or two," replied Marceline, "I was wondering what had happened to you. How are you feeling?"

"Not brilliant," said Princess Bubblegum, "I managed to get the flu after I went on a conference." Marceline sat down on the edge of the bed and, as she did so, the Princess visibly recoiled.

"Marcy, don't sit too close," she cried as loudly as her rasping throat would let her, "You might get it." Marceline laughed.

"Bonnie, even if I kissed you I wouldn't get it," she replied, noting the blush that crept into the Princess' already flushed cheeks at this last remark, "Vampires don't get sick." The Princess relaxed at this. She looked down at her notebook which was lying on the floor. She made to get it but Marceline stopped her before stooping to pick it up herself.

"You really should be resting," she said but she handed it to her anyway.

"I know," replied the Princess, "But it gets really boring in here." Marceline thought for a few moments.

"How about I keep you company?" she asked, "Then I can make sure you really are resting," she added with a wink. The Princess began to laugh but she soon stopped as it turned into a cough. Marceline rubbed her back gently until the coughing subsided.

"Why don't I fetch you a milkshake?" she offered, "They're really good for sore throats."

"That's ok, Mar. You know how René gets about visitors in the kitchen" replied the Princess, "I'm fine."

"René won't even know I was there," Marceline reassured her, "I'll be as quite as a mouse." To illustrate her point she morphed into a mouse, nuzzling the Princess' fingers before scuttling for the door. Princess Bubblegum leaned back against the pillows.

'Well, with Marceline around I certainly won't be bored,' she thought to herself. She sat bolt upright a minute later when she heard a crash from the floor below followed by angry shouts. Nope, with Marceline around she certainly wouldn't be bored.

A moment later the door opened and Marceline ran in, the milkshake held aloft before her with her telekinesis. Her fur was standing up on end as she leapt up onto the bed.

"He tried to cut off my tail with a carving knife," she said as she handed the milkshake to the Princess, "Good job his aim is terrible."

"Are you alright, Marcy?" asked the Princess, setting the milkshake down and lifting Marceline in her hands.

"Yeah, I'm fine," replied Marceline, "But maybe a mouse wasn't the best form I could've chosen. Hey, don't get all teary eyed on me, Bonnie."

"Don't put yourself in that kind of danger any more, Mar," said the Princess. Marceline chuckled.

"Not getting a soft spot for me, are you, Bub-Bubs?" she asked teasingly. The Princess shook her head but Marceline saw the slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She set Marceline down on the bed where she morphed back into humanoid form. The Princess took a gulp of the milkshake. It was delicious and she'd even remembered her favourite flavour.

"So, what were your plans for our evening anyway?" she asked, "I presume you were on your way here before you knew I was ill." That was Bonnie, perceptive as always.

"Right as usual," replied Marceline, "I just thought I'd drop by to see where you'd got to."

"Was Miss Marcy worried by any chance?" asked the Princess teasingly, "Ha, I knew it," she continued when she noticed the pink patches appearing on the Vampire Queen's cheeks, "You were worried about me."

"And so what if I was," Marceline retorted as the Princess laughed. A moment later she too began to laugh.

"So, what do you want to do?" asked Princess Bubblegum. Marceline thought for a minute.

"Got any comics?" she asked. Princess Bubblegum shook her head. "Ha, I know you'll have these," said Marceline with a note of triumph on her face, "Books." Bonnibel smiled.

"Yeah, they're up on that shelf over there," she replied, pointing to a shelf lined with all manner of books. Marceline floated up to the shelf where she ran a finger along the spines, looking for an interesting book. "Let's see," she muttered to herself, "Science, science, astro-physics, quantum physics, not even sure what that means, ahh, here we go." She lifted down a thick book that looked rather old and well read. There was an illustration on the front of a planet that looked like Earth many years ago and a walkway with a man and a robot on it. The man had a towel around his shoulders and the robot was short and squat with a large spherical head.

She carried the book back to the bed where she sat down. "Why don't I read you a bit of this?" she suggested, showing Bonnibel the book. She saw a smile touch the Princess' lips and she knew she'd picked the right book. "Scooch over then," she smiled as she settled down next to the Princess, opening the book at the first page.

She began reading, telling of a man whose house is about to be demolished to make way for a bypass. It soon unfolds that this is the least of the man's worries after they hitch a ride aboard an alien spaceship. Princess Bubblegum was listening intently and she noted that the Vampire Queen had a wonderful storytelling voice. She quickly found herself back within a story so familiar to her that she could have almost told it herself word for word without a glance at the pages. It was nice though, she noted, to have it read to her. It brought back a lot of pleasant memories and she leant her head against the Vampire Queen, closing her eyes as she listened. Marceline smiled, putting her arm around the Princess as she continued reading, letting her cuddle in closer.

After a while Marceline noticed soft breathing reaching her ears.

"How do you like that?" she murmured softly, "We hadn't even reached the most exciting bit." She set the book down on the bedside table before pulling the covers up around the sleeping Princess. Bonnibel smiled as Marceline planted a kiss on her temple before leaning back against the headboard. She too began to drowse as the minutes slipped by. Before giving up on the battle to stay awake she morphed quietly into her bat monster form. The Princess must've sensed the change as she nuzzled into the warm fur, letting out a contented sigh. Marceline smiled, holding her gently as she drifted off to sleep.

She awoke a few hours later when she felt movement. Princess Bubblegum was sitting up and stretching, yawning widely.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," murmured Marceline.

"Hey Marce," replied the Princess, "How long was I out for?" Marceline looked at the clock.

"Only a few hours," she replied, "How are you feeling?"

"A good bit better," said the Princess, "I think those few hours did the trick."

"Hold up there, Bon-Bon," said Marceline as the Princess made to get up, "Take it easy, your body still needs time to recover."

"Yes, nurse," replied Princess Bubblegum, rolling her eyes.

"Don't you 'yes nurse' me," grinned Marceline, "But if you are going to appoint me as nurse, then you're my patient so it's my duty to take care of you and make sure you don't do anything daft." The Princess stuck her tongue out at her at this, making Marceline laugh.

"Can we at least think of something else to do?" asked the Princess.

"Alright, and what do you want to do?" asked Marceline. An impish smile spread across the Princess' face at this question. Marceline so enjoyed messing with her. Well, what if this time the tables were turned?

"Well, how about a bed bath?" asked the Princess. The effect was nigh instantaneous as the Vampire Queen blushed scarlet. She had not been prepared for that and the Princess chuckled.

"What are you imagining, my dear Marcy?" she asked, resting one hand on Marceline's shoulder as she leant closer to her. Marceline felt the Princess' breath against one of her ears and she blushed even harder.

"N-nothing," she stammered, "I-I wasn't imagining anything."

"Oh, is that so?" wheedled the Princess, tugging Marceline's ear.

"Yeah, that is so," replied Marceline, folding her arms, hoping Bonnie would drop the subject, "Got any movies?" Bonnibel, seeing Marceline's discomfort, allowed the subject to drop.

"Yeah, there're some over in that drawer there," replied Bonnibel. Marceline made her way over to the drawer and pulled it out. "Any particular movie you want to watch?" she called over her shoulder. She looked back at the videos and started to see a bit of a pattern in the plot, particularly the lovers.

"Can we watch Imagine Me and You?" asked Bonnibel. Marceline put the video into the player and glided back to the bed. They settled back to watch as the movie began. The girl, Luce, helped Rachel get her wedding ring out of the punch. Marceline noticed the looks they exchanged. Those looks were so familiar. She glanced over at Bonnibel who was absorbed in the movie. They watched as things unfolded and Marceline recognised more and more of her own feelings. Bonnibel stole a glance at the vampire and she smiled, thinking about how many times she'd felt like Luce.

Bonnibel dabbed at her eyes as the two women said their goodbyes. Marceline noticed and put her arm around Bonnibel. Bonnibel smiled, leaning against Marceline as they continued watching. "It will have a happy ending, won't it?" asked Marceline and Bonnibel realised that she too had tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, of course it will," she replied. She laughed, "Did you really think I'd choose a sad movie?" Marceline smiled.

"Nah, I suppose I didn't," she smiled, "This is a great film."

"It gets better," replied Bonnibel. The tension mounted as Rachel and her dad sped off to chase after Luce and Marceline found that she was holding on tightly to Bonnibel as they both stared at the screen. "She's gotta make it," whispered Marceline, "She's just got to."

"I'm sure she will," replied Bonnibel even though she'd seen the film at least a dozen times before. The scene arrived where Rachel finally caught up with Luce and she used what she had taught her to get her to hear her. They watched as Luce heard her cries over the sea of traffic. At last, the happy reunion. At this point Bonnibel and Marceline began to laugh, crying at the same time as they held on tightly to one another. Slowly their eyes met. Marceline smiled. She knew the look in Bonnibel's eyes and she now understood the strange feelings in her chest. Slowly their faces inched closer to one another's.

Bonnibel's lips met Marceline's and Marceline moved her lips gently, holding her Princess in her arms. The first kiss was short, the second was longer. They weren't paying attention to the credits, only to each other.

"Just think," smiled Bonnibel, "All this because I got sick."

"And now we've both caught the lovebug," grinned Marceline, "I guess love is contagious." Bonnibel laughed before kissing Marceline again.


End file.
